An Alternative Treatment Option for Congenital Syphilis: A Case Series

Abstract

Newborn babies born to untreated syphilis-positive mothers need to be treated adequately and timely to prevent and cure congenital syphilis. Penicillin is one of the most robust and the most recommended drug for the same. However, in case of penicillin shortage or an adverse effect to penicillin, an alternative treatment is warranted. Injection ceftriaxone is a promising drug in case of penicillin unavailability. We present a case series in which we treated five asymptomatic newborn babies having positive venereal disease research laboratory (VDRL) titers with ceftriaxone 100 mg/kg/day in two divided doses for 10 days. The patients were cured and discharged on Day 11.

Keywords

• alternative treatment
• ceftriaxone
• congenital syphilis